GeodesicViewer - A tool for exploring geodesics in the theory of relativity

The GeodesicViewer realizes exocentric two- and three-dimensional illustrations of lightlike and timelike geodesics in the general theory of relativity. By means of an intuitive graphical user interface, all parameters of a spacetime as well as the initial conditions of the geodesics can be modified interactively. This makes the GeodesicViewer a useful instrument for the exploration of geodesics in four-dimensional Lorentzian spacetimes.

TheGeodesicViewer

The most recent version of the GeodesicViewer can be downloaded here:

Source files	zip-file	md5 sum
Windows binaries	zip-file	md5 sum

Version date: 2014-05-12

 

Linux source files	gzip-compressed tar-file (3.0MB)	md5: d051902f42f4be3b3472ef75329b0f28
Windows source files	zip-archive (3.3MB)	md5: fea3fe50f8738ffbb1d018929206d682
Windows binaries	zip-archive (17MB)	md5: 21d77f1d0ea99b379ea60509d37bf8f9

Version date: 25. Mar 2011 

 

A brief documentation, some tutorials, and an installation instruction can be found here. (aktualisieren!!!)
Note that the Windows binaries were tested only on 64bit 'Windows 7' machines.
There is also an educational article about how the GeodesicViewer could be used in the classroom: see below.

 

Screenshots

     

Links

• T. M??ller, J. Frauendiener
  Studying null and time-like geodesics in the classroom
  European Journal of Physics 32, 747-759 (2011)
  DOI: 10.1088/0143-0807/32/3/011
  
• T. M??ller, F. Grave
  GeodesicViewer - A tool for exploring geodesics in the theory of relativity
  Computer Physics Communications 181, 413-419 (2010)
  DOI: 10.1016/j.cpc.2009.10.010
  Catalogue Identifier for the source code: AEFP_v1_0.
• Catalogue of Spacetimes
• Motion4D-library
  
• The orbits in J. Levin and G. Perez-Giz, "A Periodic Table for Black Hole Orbits," Phys. Rev. D, 77, 103005, 2008
  DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.77.103005
  can be reproduced by the GeodesicViewer. Please use the maxima-notebook for the parameter transformation and the GV-settings file.
  A MathematicaDemonstration by D. Saroff, G. Clifton, and J. Levin can be found here.